Alex Rodriguez's grand slam lifts Yankees to 5-1 victory over Giants

NEW YORK — In the strange life and times of Alex Rodriguez, it might have been expected — that on a long day of rising emotions and approaching goodbyes, he would somehow step into the middle of the script to grab a leading role.

This twist happened in the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium Friday night when Rodriguez hit a lofty grand slam into the right-field seats. With that, baseball’s wayward star had himself another record — becoming the game’s all-time leader in grand slams — providing the Yankees with a small breath as they beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-1, and clawed to remain in the mad scramble for a wild-card berth.

Some of the fans may detest Rodriguez. Others may see him as an underdog hero, but either way, he continues to barrel through the record books. The grand slam was his 24th, carrying him past Lou Gehrig, who had held the mark for more than 70 years. Rodriguez, perhaps mindful that allegations he used drugs to boost his output may make his accomplishments suspect, downplayed the milestone.

"It means I’m getting old," he said, when asked to describe the significance of the moment. "It’s hard to think about things like that right now. We’re really on a sprint to the end here, and every win is huge for us."

It had been a bittersweet day for the Yankees, beginning with Andy Pettitte revealing his plans to retire after the end of the season and ending with the sight of Rivera, also approaching his last day, pounding his mitt in small celebration.

CC Sabathia, another stalwart Yankee left-hander, got the victory, pitching seven innings and holding the Giants to a single run on seven hits. Alfonso Soriano’s line drive homer in the second gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead, before a double by the Giants center fielder, Juan Perez, evened the score.

For the Yankee hitters, the chore at hand was solving Tim Lincecum, a winner of two Cy Young awards, who no longer carries the same aura to the mound. He is heading to a third straight losing season. These days he rarely pitches past the sixth inning.

When Eduardo Nunez led off the Yankee seventh with a single, the Giants’ bullpen began milling. Lincecum wound up hitting Brendan Ryan and walking Ichiro Suzuki, filling the bases, with Rodriguez coming to bat.

Rodriguez’s career and reputation is in a nether place right now, as he waits for the appeal of a lengthy suspension to begin, soon after the end of the season. Unsurprisingly, then, the reception he receives at Yankee Stadium usually has an ambivalent ring to it.

That was the case Friday night, even as he stepped up for the game’s pivotal moment. He had just one hit in his last 25 at-bats as he stepped in. The Giants had turned to a reliever, George Kontos. The count went to 1-1. Kontos then threw a slider that dipped far low. Rodriguez let it go. The next pitch broke lazily over the outside part of the plate.

This seemed to fall into Rodriguez’s designs. The righty batter took what looked like a light swing, and the ball landed a few rows back in right field.

With that, the stadium erupted. A crowd of 41,74 stomped and cheered, grateful no doubt that the Yankees still had life in a pennant race. The cheers persisted, and for a moment, it appeared Rodriguez might pop out of the dugout for a curtain call. But the cheers waned, and no such thing happened.